Drop hammer



H. TERHUNE Nov. 4, 1941.

DROP HAMMER Filed March 28, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Howard Ter'hune 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Howe rd Terhune H. TERHUNE Nov. 4, 1941.

DROP HAMMER Filed March 28, 1958 H. TERHUNE Nov. 4, 1941.

DROP HAMMER Filed March 2 8, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .INVENTOR Howard Terhune a Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE DROP HAMMER Howard Terhune, Alliance, Ohio Application March 28, 1938, Serial No. 198,435 4 Claims. (Cl. 7825) This invention relates generally to drop hammers and more particularly to a self-aligning frame to anvil construction for drop hammers in which a large number of the wedges ordinarily employed for adjusting or maintaining the relationship of the frame to the anvil are eliminated.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the present preferred embodiment of my invention,

Figure 1 is a broken front elevation of the anvil or base of a drop hammer showing a portion of the uprights constituting the frames which are supported by the anvil;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken generally on the line II-II of Fig. 1, the right hand frame shown in Fig. 1 having been omitted for clearness;

; Figure 3 is a horizontal section on an enlarged scale taken on the line III--III of Fig. 1, certain elements having been omitted for clearness;

Figure l is a vertical section on an enlarged scale taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1, illustrating the projection and recess construction of the contacting surfaces of the anvil and frame supported thereon;

Figure 5 is an end elevation of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 1, illustrating particularly the arrangement of the cross adjusting wedges and clamp whereby the retaining bolt is relieved from any shearing stress;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the cross adjusting wedges;

Figure 7 is a plan view, and Figure 8 is a side elevation of a clamp for holding the adjusting wedge;

Figure 9 is a transverse section through the clamp taken on the line I XIX of Fig. 7; and

Figure 10 is a side elevation of a shield for preventing scale blown from the forming die from entering the joint between the frame and anvil.

In the operation of a drop hammer, shock is transmitted to the frames which carry the ram, this shock' exerting thrust in a substantially horizontal plane in a direction normal to the front face of the hammer, that is in a front and back direction, and also in a direction parallel with the front face of the hammer, that is in a direction crosswise of the hammer. Various arrangements have been provided heretofore for preventing misalignment of the two halves of the frame relative to each other and relative to the anvil and for adjusting the position of the frame on the anvil in order to compensate for wear. This has generally involved the use of a number of adjusting wedges or wearing plates.

In accordance with the present invention, in

order to prevent relative movement of the frame and anvil in one direction, say in a front and back directionof the drop hammer, the bear-.

ing surfaces of the anvil and frame instead of being made fiat are provided with interengaging projections and recesses such, for example, as V-shaped notches.

prevent relative front and back movement of the frame relative to the anvil. 0n the other hand, if the notches and projections on the bearing surfaces of the frame and anvil extend in a direction normal to the front face of thedrop hammer, they will prevent relative movement of the frame and' anvil in a crosswise direction. In the preferred embodiment illustrated herein, the V-shaped notches and projections extend transversely or crosswise of the drop hammer so as to prevent relative front and back movement of the frame and anvil. Wedges are employed for the'crosswise adjustment of the frame for die alignment. I

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, an anvil 2 has an anvil cap 3 which supports a die 4 between the two uprights 5 and B forming a portion of the frame for supporting and guiding a ram, not shown. The ram slides in guides I secured to the uprights by rods 8. Since the construction and arrange ment of each of the uprights 5 and 6, and the supports on the anvil therefor are similar, only one of the connections will be referred to in detail. The base In of the frame upright 5, in-

, stead of being made flat as in the usual construction, is provided with a series of generally V-shaped projectionsand recesses, the projections being designated in Figure 4 by the-reference numeral ll. These projections extend transversely, that is crosswise of the base I0 of the upright 5 and fit into correspondingly'formed recesses provided in the bearing surface l2 of 55 at which the'projections are formed may' be anything off of the true horizontal and vertical. The angle is shown as 35 from the vertical because this results in a horizontal component which is approximately one-half the vertical component.

The base of each frame upright is formed with a lip 14 at each side which bears against the anvil in order to keep the frame and anvil in vertical alignment; As best shown in Figures 4 and 5, the serrated surfaces between the frame and anvil are lubricated. Oil cups l5 are connected by passages l6 and branch passages l! to oil pockets l8 formed adjacent the upper ends of the projections l3. Each of the projections l3 on the anvil is also provided with an oil groove I9.

The frame is secured to the anvil by bolts 20 and 2| provided with coil springs 22 in a manner which is well known in order to allow limited relative movement in a vertical direction of the frame and anvil during operation of the hammer. It will be seen that wear of the contacting surfaces of the frame and anvil simply results in a slight lowering or settling of the frame on the anvil due to the weight of the frame and the tension imparted by the springs 22. Any relative movement between the frame and anvil in a horizontal plane from front to back or from back to front of the hammer, is however, prevented by the projection and recess construction of the bearing surfaces of the frame and anvil. When it is necessary to adjust the frame relative to the anvil in a crosswise direction, this may be done by the use of adjusting wedges as will be described hereinafter.

Cross adjustment of the frame uprights 5 and 6 may be accomplished by the use of adjusting wedges 24 and 25, one wedge being employed for each of the frame uprights 5 and 6. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wedge 24 fits against a shoulder 28 on the base ID of the upright 5 and against a shoulder 21' on the anvil 2. Thus by driving the wedge further in from the position shown in Figure 2, the upright 5 will be moved crosswise of the hammer toward the upright 6. The upright 6 may be adjusted in a similar manner by movement of the wedge 25.

It is now common practice to lubricate the wedges and under such conditions it is often difficult to maintain them in place against the thrust imparted during operation of the drop hammer. I provide means for retaining the wedges in place without imparting any shear to the retaining means. This may be accomplished in the following manner. The top surface of the wedge 24 is provided with notches 28. These notches cooperate with notches 29 formed in the foot 3!] of a clamp 3| shown in Figures '7, 8 and 9. The end 32 of the clamp which lies opposite the notched end 29 fits between lugs 33 formed on the anvil. In this way the clamp is prevented from moving in a front and back direction of the drop hammer. The clamp is retained in position so that its notches 29 will engage the notches 28 on the wedge 24 by a bolt 34 which fits loosely in an opening 35 in the anvil. A spring 36 surrounds the upper portion of the bolt and presses against the clamp 3| which is retained in contact with the wedge by a nut 3! on the bolt 34. The purpose of the spring 36 is to exert upward pressure on the clamp when the nut is loosened so that the clamp will be raised in order to allow adjustment of the wedge 24. As previously stated, the bolt 34 fits loosely in the opening 35 in the anvil in order to allow for play of the frame in a crosswise direction without imparting any shear to the bolt. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the holes 36a in the anvil which receive the bolts 20 and 2| are elongated in order to allow crosswise movement of the frame relative to the anvil.

In the operation of the drop hammer, scale from the work being forged tends to accumulate in the die 4. It is common practice to blow out this scale from the die by the use of compressed air or steam. This scale has a tendency to lodge between the contacting surfaces of the frame and anvil, especially along the inside edges of the joint between the frame and anvil from front to back of the hammer. In service the deposit of scale often becomes so great that the tops of the uprights are thrown back, usually unevenly, thus drawing the dies out of alignment. It often becomes necessary to take down the superstructure to remove this accumulation which may become so hard that a hammer and chisel are necessary to remove it. In order to overcome this difficulty I provide a scale protector located between the forming die and the joint between the frame and anvil. Such a scale protector is illustrated in Figures 1 and 10 and designated by the reference numeral 38. It is made of light spring metal sheet and is provided at its lower edge with a lug 39 which fits in a corresponding recess 40 formed in the anvil in order to prevent forward or backward movement of the shield. The upper edge of the shield fits under a lug 4! secured to the frame. The light construction of the shield permits cross adjustment of the frame.

Although it is preferred that the projections and grooves in the bearing surfaces of the frame and anvil extend crosswise of the drop hammer and that wedges be employed for the cross adjustment of the frame, the projections and recesses may extend from front to back of the drop hammer and wedges may be employed for adjusting the frame in a direction normal to the front face of the drop hammer. The present invention eliminates a large number of adjusting wedges ordinarily employed in maintaining the desired relative position of the frame on the anvil.

While I have illustrated and described the present preferred embodiment of my invention, it

is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a drop hammer, an anvil, a frame supported on the anvil, a wedge for adjusting the frame on the anvil, a clamp for the wedge, the clamp and wedge having interengaging projec tions and recesses, means on the anvil engaging the clamp in one direction, and means for maintaining the clamp and wedge in engagement with each other, said last mentioned means being substantially free from shear.

2. In a drop hammer, an anvil, a frame supported on the anvil, a wedge for adjusting the frame on the anvil, a clamp for the wedge, the

clamp and wedge having interengaging projections and recesses, lugs on the anvil engaging the clamp for restraining movement of the clamp in one horizontal direction, securing means connecting the clamp and anvil for maintaining the clamp and wedge in engagement, the securing means having a loose fit in the anvil so as to be substantially free from shear.

3. In a drop hammer, an anvil, a frame supported on the anvil, a wedge for adjusting the frame on the anvil, a clamp for the wedge, the

acting to disengage the clamp and wedge uponrelease of the securing means.

4. In a drop hammer, an anvil having spaced apart bearing surfaces for the frame, means intermediate said bearing surfaces for supporting a die, a frame having a base supported on each of said bearing surfaces, the bearing surfaces of the 15 frame and anvil being provided with interengaging V-shaped notches and projections extending crosswise of the drop hammer for preventing relative movement of the frame and anvil in a front and back direction of the hammer, a wedge for the crosswise adjustment of the frame on the anvil, a clamp for the wedge, the clamp and wedge having interengaging projections and recesses, means on the anvil restraining movement of the clamp in a front and back direction of the hammer, and means for maintaining the clamp and wedge in engagement with each other, said last mentioned means being substantially free from shear.

HOWARD TERHUNE.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,261,512. 2 November L 19m.

- HOWARD TERHUNE.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification -of the above numbered patent requiring -correction as follows: Page 2, sec- 0nd column, line 57, claim 1, after the word "engaging" insert the clemp for restraining movement of--; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed'this 9th day of December, A. D. 1914.1.-

Henry Van Arsdale,

(seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

